Experiences that disrupt social bonds or challenge social status (such conflicts, rejection or unwanted separation) engage neuroendocrine and neuroimmune stress systems and impose neuroplastic constraints on the adult or developing CNS. Although epidemiological evidence has long implicated these “social stressors” as major precipitants of psychiatric illnesses, the mechanisms that mediate their detrimental influences on health remain enigmatic.Our lab applies basic neuroscience approaches such as electrophysiology, imaging and transcriptomics in model organisms (primarily rodents) to identify the effects that social experiences have on neural circuits and their intracellular signaling pathways. We also use circuit disruption approaches such as optogenetics or electrical stimulation, as well as genetic and pharmacological manipulations, to test the causal involvement of specific circuits, cell types and signaling molecules in social and affective behaviors. Our results indicate that adverse social experiences impact on the structure and function of several evolutionarily conserved neural systems key for cognitive processes such as socioaffective appraisal, social reward and decision making. Because these cognitive and affective processes are at the core of our ability to function in a group, and often breakdown in psychiatric illness, improving our understanding of their basic mechanisms is important to advance treatment and care.